


I Don't Need You || Akaashi Keiji

by Rot_Llaves



Series: Ace of Hearts - Haikyuu || Short Stories || One Shots || Creative Rambles || [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Bokuto's Babysitters Unite, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, MSBY Black Jackals - Freeform, Manga Spoilers, Post-Canon, Romance, Slice of Life, Want vs Need
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23877436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rot_Llaves/pseuds/Rot_Llaves
Summary: Life as an editor isn't all it's cracked up to be and while he's successful at it, Akaashi feels he may be lacking in other aspects of his life. His girlfriend is there to set him straight.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Ace of Hearts - Haikyuu || Short Stories || One Shots || Creative Rambles || [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1720834
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	I Don't Need You || Akaashi Keiji

Work was never what he expected. Everyone around him talked like his life as an editor was filled with fancy dinner parties and exclusive perks set aside for only those with power. They spoke about his job as if he drove around in a fancy car, ordered people around with single words and took all the credit when things turned out successfully.

In truth, being an editor was like herding cats - and not just any cats, no. It was like herding a rambunctious gang of feral cats who _knew_ that their kitten eyes could make people move mountains for them. The reality of being an editor was needing to invest in glasses in his early 20s because he spent too many nights squinting at proofs and copy on his computer screen in a completely darkened room. It was long phone calls with artists and writers at three in the morning, offering comforting but firm words as they cried over rushed details and impossible deadlines.

Picking up the pieces of downtrodden people and finding solutions to boost their egos wasn't something beyond his capabilities. In a way, he could say he had been training to be an editor since he started high school. High school Akaashi had paid the toll of suffering, with those countless hours of Bokuto wrangling and supporting, for his current version to have success.

It was also thanks to that headache of an ace that Akaashi had a girlfriend, albeit one he hadn't seen in nearly three weeks due to his job. In a lot of ways, that poor woman had taken up the brute of his duties when Bokuto had moved on to the MSBY Black Jackals. At the time, she had just been a public relations intern tasked with the impossible: keeping the rookies in line. But she was incredibly good at her job, even if they did (sometimes) get beyond her control, and she quickly became a cornerstone of the Black Jackals PR team, often set with the task of babysitting them at public events.

If it hadn't been for a particularly terrible interview, after which Kamasaki Rai had pulled Bokuto by the collar to a corner and asked him 'just exactly how much of an idiot are you?,' Kamasaki would have never asked the troublesome wing spiker how he even managed to graduate high school. Without that comment, Bokuto would have never thought to drag his PR rep to the stands (practically screaming "what a coincidence that he came to the game today!") to meet "the sole force behind my high school success."

It was not love at first sight. In fact, it was more like Kamasaki saw a huge resource for future success at wrangling Bokuto and she wanted to get as much information as possible out of him before he disappeared forever. Their first conversation had only lasted three minutes before she hastily invited Akaashi to coffee with her - and the ace who refused to be left out - that afternoon.

Akaashi hadn't expected her to whip out a notebook and pen the moment they settled into the booth at the cafe and he certainly hadn't expected her to not care about the rapidly deflating man sitting next to her who seemed to lose more of his soul the longer his former setter and current babysitter talked. Just when Akaashi thought they might have killed Bokuto off, Kamasaki thanked Akaashi for his time, slipped enough money on the table to pay for everything the three had ordered, and grabbed the Black Jackal by his collar.

"You're a professional volleyball player," she scolded, pushing him out the door. "Stop acting like a two- year-old."

A small smile had formed on Akaashi's lips as he watched the pair walk away. Their techniques for handling Bokuto were certainly _different_ , but he had to admire how she got the best out of the player without constantly feeding his ego.

He had texted Bokuto for her number before the pair had even made it out of his view - not knowing that the woman was also in the process of obtaining his number from Bokuto. The frosted-tipped, wing spiker was practically inconsolable when Kamasaki and his former setter started dating but he soon came around to the idea - claiming they had to make him the godparent of their first child.

It was weird how, when they started dating those two years ago, Akaashi thought they'd be invincible. He thought, with such a patient woman, there would be little trouble, little need for jealousy, little worry between them, but he soon found himself plagued by it all. Rai was steadfast and understanding of his job's demands but he always felt bad.

If it wasn't for his job, he would see her more. If it wasn't for those long hours, he'd have dinner with her every night. If it wasn't for the phone calls at every hour of the day, she'd have his undivided attention. She needed him to be there for her as her boyfriend and he always seemed to fall short.

Even now, as he walked up her door, as he was finally going to see her for the first time in three weeks, he felt like a disappointment.

She opened the door before he'd even finished his knock and pulled him inside with a wide smile.

"I made you dinner," she said, pulling him into a kiss as she leaned back to close the door. "And if you're a really good boy, you might get dessert."

"Stop being perfect," he whispered into her lips and was met with a soft slap to his waist.

"Don't say something like that until after you've tried the food. It was my first time attempting this dish. You may be disappointed," she teased.

Akaashi almost wished he could bottle the joy between them as they ate their first dinner together in practically a month. They talked about everything they could: from the story pitches he had heard that morning to the latest gaff Miya Atsumu made during an interview the night before.

There was contentment between them when they were together, but the more his girlfriend shot him that adoring smile, the quieter he got. He really didn't deserve her or, at least, she didn't deserve to be left alone so often.

He remained quiet as they lounged on her sofa - her laying with her back against his chest, between his legs, reading the news on her phone as he played with her long, raven hair.

Raí could feel his eyes on her as she scrolled and she paused a moment to close her eyes and take in the feel of his fingers on her scalp.

"Something's bothering you, Keiji," she hummed, the way she stated the words not leaving it as a question.

His hands stopped their movement briefly before returning to fiddling with her hair. He moved his head down to hers and placed a light kiss on it. "I'm just sorry," he mumbled.

"What for," she asked, moving her torso around so she could see him.

"For being so busy. For never being able to see you," Akaashi said softly, his eyes turned down. "I know you need me to be there for you more often. I've been a pretty terrible boyfriend."

Pushing herself up, Rai moved herself across the couch and faced her boyfriend completely.

"Don't blame yourself. I've been busy with work too," she responded. "And I'm happy to get to spend any time with you."

"But you shouldn't have to settle for small amounts of time. You shouldn't have to settle for only quiet nights in because there isn't enough time to plan a date," he replied, desperately. "You deserve so much more than that. So much more than me."

A weird look flashed across his girlfriend's face as he finished speaking and forced himself to raise his eyes to her. She almost looked ... angry?

"You honestly think you're not enough for me," she asked, barely below a shout. "You think I wouldn't walk away if the time we spent together wasn't enough?"

"No, that's not what..." he trailed off, trying to find the right words to frame the guilt he felt inside. She didn't give him a chance to finish.

"Look, I can tell that you're not used to being in any sort of partnership," she said as she grabbed his hand and placed it gently on her own cheek. "I think you've gone far too long with the pressure to succeed falling only on you."

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, as if begging him to continue the affectionate gesture on his own. His eyes, though flooded with confusion, softened as he moved to stroke her face gently. Rai opened her eyes and set her gaze to directly match that of the man in front of her.

"Kei, I don't _need_ you," she said, her tone gentle despite throwing figurative darts through his heart. "I don't _need_ you to take care of me. I don't _need_ you to fix me. I don't _need_ you just to be able to function."

His hand stopped moving in her hair and slowly dropped to his side as Rai's words floated in his head and he wondered just what, exactly, was she trying to get at.

"You don't need me," he whispered. It was almost a thoughtful question rather than a repetition of her words. Rai gave him a loving smile as she reached out to play with his messy, black hair.

"I'm not going to fall apart if I don't see you everyday. My life doesn't stop moving when you take your eyes off me. If that's the type of woman you wanted, I'm sorry to disappoint," she said with a sly smile and playful eyes.

"No... No tha-."

"Shhh," she said, cutting him off with a finger on his lips. "I'm talking right now."

With her finger still on his lips Rai scooted closer to him, placing herself in between his arched legs, wrapped her arms around his center and placed her head on his shoulder.

"You're the most handsome, kind, accommodating and gentle man I've ever met, Keiji," she whispered, her warm breath tickling the space where his neck and collarbone meet and he had to hold back the urge to shiver. "And I love you so much that sometimes I forget to breathe when you're around. But I don't need you to be my savior."

Rai nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck and let it sit there while she took comfort in his warmth and basked in the way that the feeling of his skin against hers made her feel like nothing else in the world mattered more than the two of them together in that moment. And in that moment, Akaashi swore he could have been likened to literal putty.

"Rai," he whispered, raising his hand to tangle his fingers in her raven hair once again.

"I'm not done yet," she smiled into his skin, effectively quieting him yet again. She let the silence hang between them for a moment before tightening her arms around him and placing fluttering kisses into his neck.

"I don't need you Kei but, God, do I want you," Rai moved herself away from his neck and swiftly placed her forehead against his, closing her eyes as she continued speaking. "I want to come home to you everyday. I want to hold your hand while we buy groceries and I want to rub your back when you're feeling sick. I want to dance with you in the kitchen while we cook dinner and I want to share knowing, but embarrassed, glances with you when your friends make inappropriate jokes at our expense."

Rai had moved her forehead away from his and slowly moved her lips closer to his, her eyes half lidded but firmly set on his.

"I want you in every way a woman could possibly want a man, Keiji," she whispered into his lips. "So let's _want_ to be together and not need to be together, okay?"

Akaashi answered her with an eager nod and hungrily leaned into those lips that had been tantalizingly close for just a moment too long. Together they indulged in their love as Rai pushed her heart into every lustful kiss. _I'm your partner_ , her kisses told him. _I'm your lover. I won't back down so easily. I'm not weak and neither is my love for you._

Despite his best efforts Akaashi sighed into the kiss, unable to keep his cool as he tried to meet her fervent pleas with an equaled passion. He was trying so hard not to be completely swept away and lose all the composure he had worked so hard to master. But as she kissed him with reaffirmations of her devotion, he began to think that giving in completely wasn't that bad of an idea. He could completely melt into her and give her every part of himself without fear. He didn't have to be strong for her. He didn't have to be put together for her. He didn't have to throw away everything just to support her. They would catch each other.

Suddenly Rai pushed away from him with that smile on her face that warned of oncoming mischief. She grabbed his tie as she rose from the couch and tugged him toward the bedroom in the back of her apartment.

"Come on Keiji," she directed, as if he already wouldn't follow her to the ends of the world. "It looks like you've got some _needs_ that require tending to."

He followed after her, stumbling through a combination of his eagerness and being dragged by his tie. His eyes were practically sparkling in anticipation as his heart tried to relay messages to his brain. _You better marry this woman_ , it screamed at him as she pushed him back onto her bed.

 _Yeah_ , he thought. That was something he really _wanted._


End file.
